JANUARY 11

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES

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Matthew 6:31-34

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

Lamentations 3:22-23

“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”

Isaiah 40:29

“He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increases strength.”

Psalm 31:15a

“My times are in Your hand;….”

John 9:4

“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.”

Mark 4:26-27

“And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,  and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.”

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This month we’re reading  the new devotional   “Becoming New”,  written by  Warren W. Wiersbe and compiled by his grandson.  Pastor Wiersbe was the President of Moody Bible Institute before the current President, Erwin Lutzer.  

THE WAYS OF GOD

Read Psalms 23 and 32

The Lord could have spoken one word and instantly brought the entire universe into existence, but He chose to do His work on six successive days.  There is a lesson in this truth”  GOD TAKES HIS TIME. God created planet earth to operate on a twenty-four-hour schedule, which means we must live a day at a time.  Moses reminded the Israelites, “You have six days each week for your ordinary work.” (Exodus 20:9), and Jesus taught us to pray, “give us this day our daily bread.”  (Matthew 6:11).  Creation operates a day at a time, and so should we.  When our Lord served here on earth, He followed a daily schedule ordained by the Father. (Isaiah 50:4; John 1:29, 35,and 43; and John 2:1-4)., and this is a good example for us to follow.

God isn’t in a hurry, but most people are, and they pay for it dearly.  They fill their schedules with reminders of events to attend, people to meet, and jobs to do, rarely stopping to ask if all this activity is really accomplishing anything.  We rarely say, “If the Lord wants us to….” (James 4:13-17), but rush from one appointment to another, secretly pleased that we aren’t “wasting time.”  Jesus was never in a hurry because of an overcrowded schedule, and yet He always accomplished each day’s assignment. (John 9:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 27; 13:1; 17:1).

In Psalm 32:8-9, King David warns us against two extremes:  being stubborn like the mule or impulsive like the horse.  When David sinned with Bathsheba, he was impulsive like the horse, and when for nearly a year he refused to confess his sins, he was stubborn like a mule.  God’s people are sheep, and following the good Shepherd, Jesus Christ is the best way to live.  The believer who says, “Into Your hand I commit my spirit….My times are in Your hand,” (Psalm 31:5 and 15).  Is sure to make the best use of each day.

Our Father in heaven always gives His best to those who leave the choice to Him.  “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.” (Psalm 33:11).  The will of God for you comes from His heart and is an expression of His love for you.  We may not understand how an emergency operation or an auto accident can express God’s love, but we don’t live on explanations – we live on promises.  We walk by faith and learn to say, “Thank You, Lord”: even when we hurt or when we are weary.

We are not horses or mules.  “We are His people, the sheep of His pasture”  (Psalm 100:3).

When we follow the Shepherd, we are safe and lack nothing we need.  We live a day at a time.  In the morning, the Shepherd leads us into the pastures and then back to the fold each evening, and He cares for our every need.  If one of the sheep goes astray, the shepherd seeks it and brings it back. 

In the Old Testament, every Passover the sheep died for the shepherds, but at Calvary, the shepherd died for the sheep. (John 10:11).

God’s ways are to be trusted and walked in.  Like David, say to God right now, “The Lord is my shepherd: I have all that I need.” (Psalm 23:1).

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